I would like to know the very first year of the Cobra to settle a dispute with someone, so I figured I'd come to the source of all Mustang information(I'm not real up-to-date with anything besides 65-73 Mustangs).

1965-1970, they were Shelby Mustangs. 1976 was the first year of the Mustang Cobra. The Cobra moniker lasted until 1979, and was dropped until 1993. Between 1993 and 2004 a Cobra has been manufactured every year except for 2000 and 2002.

1965-1970, they were Shelby Mustangs. 1976 was the first year of the Mustang Cobra. The Cobra moniker lasted until 1979, and was dropped until 1993. Between 1993 and 2004 a Cobra has been manufactured every year except for 2000 and 2002.

Actually, the Cobra package (Ford option number 933) was dropped in 1981, and the Cobra name lived on mustangs in Canada from at least 1987 as a stripe package.